


A Thousand More

by AceTrainerHope



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Fluff, Gen, No Romance, One Shot, Platonic Relationships, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 04:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15477993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceTrainerHope/pseuds/AceTrainerHope
Summary: Interesting things happen in Zenith, where the worlds of many Heroes connect and collide.Strangers who would've never crossed paths meet one another, former enemies fight side by side, and those once lost are found again.Even those who didn't even know they were lost in the first place.





	A Thousand More

There was bright flash of white light.

Everything was a bleary haze.

And then the smoke cleared around him—both literally and figuratively.

He stood at the center of a stone altar riddled with intricate carvings. A pale blue sky stretched out endlessly above him. And waiting several feet in front of him, at the very edge of the altar, was a person.

Dressed in a white cloak with accents of gold, they looked to be about his age… Maybe? It was hard to tell with the hood that covered most of their face. They were holding some sort of strange weapon in one of their gloved hands. The weapon was lowered at the moment, but it seemed like whoever this person was, they’d had it aimed at him just moments ago.

They didn’t appear to be hostile, though. On the contrary, actually, they looked… happy to see him? Ecstatic, even. But he was pretty sure he’d never seen this person before.

The two of them held eye contact for a long second before the hooded figure spoke first.

“Oh, uh, hi there!” They greeted.

Their tone was somewhat uncertain, but also chipper and friendly as they gave an awkward wave. Returning their weapon to the hilt upon their belt, they took several steps forward before extending their hand out to him. “My name’s Kiran! I’m the, uh, resident summoner for the Order of Heroes. Welcome to Askr!”

Order of Heroes. Askr. Those sounded… vaguely familiar for some reason.

“Hello. I am Marth, Prince of Altea. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He didn’t know why, but something inside him felt compelled to share that information with this… Kiran person. He took their hand in his own, and gave it a firm shake. “So I… I’ve been summoned here, then?”

Kiran nodded. “Yep! I can introduce you to the others, if you want? They’ll be really happy to meet you, I’m sure. Here, follow me!” They went on, leading the way over to a set of cobblestone stairs leading down a shallow hill.

Seeing no reason not to, Marth did exactly as he was instructed, following behind the summoner.

 

* * *

 

“Aaaand here’s the main lobby. This is where everyone usually hangs out when we’re not, y’know, fighting or anything,” Kiran explained, gesturing to the large and rather ornate foyer that opened up from the corridor that the two of them were walking down.

Already there were about two dozen or so people scattered about the room, most just chatting in small groups of two or three, but there were a few larger clusters.  

Normally such a large group wouldn’t intimidate Marth all that much, but…

It’d been a long time since he been in the presence of so many strangers. Not only that, but many of these people looked just as colorful and lively as his own traveling party. It was odd to feel that same kind of energy radiating off of them, like they were familiar even though they weren’t at the same time.

Some glanced his way for but a brief moment, but they didn’t really pay him any mind.

They seemed far more focused on Kiran, actually.

Kiran, who was now going around and introducing Marth to each of the little groups that were gathered around the lobby.  

First was Sharena and Alfonse, the two royal siblings of Askr, and Anna, the commander of the Order of Heroes. Marth was confused at first, sure that he had seen a woman just like Anna once before in his own world, but she insisted that this was definitely their first time meeting.

Next was a young cleric named Sakura with her two retainers, Subaki and Hana. The pink-haired girl reminded him a lot of Minerva’s younger sister, Maria, though only in appearance. She was far shyer than the young Macedonian princess.

Then there was a boy with bright red hair dressed in blue, sitting with a blue-haired girl dressed in red; Roy and Lilina. The two of them seemed like very good friends.

Marth and Kiran were about to make their way over to the next group, when…

Out of the corner of his eye, the Altean prince caught sight of a familiar shade of vibrant green, and a flood of relief washed over him. As nice as all of these strangers seemed thus far, finding one of his allies here was a comfort he dearly needed.

And the exuberant energy of a certain young manakete was the perfect cure for the faint bit of homesickness that creeped into his heart.

“My apologies, Kiran, but I may have to excuse myself for now. I believe I just spotted one of my companions over there,” he explained to the summoner.

“Oh, you mean Tiki? She’s been here for about a week or so now. If you guys are friends I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you, too!” Kiran replied. “No need to apologize; we can talk more later. It’ll be nice to see a familiar face, yeah?”

Marth nodded. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be sure to seek you out later.”

And with that, Marth bade goodbye to his new white-cloaked friend and made his way over to where he’d seen Tiki, eager to speak with the green-haired manakete.

Especially after what Kiran had just told him; that Tiki had been here several days before he had arrived. He hated the thought of her being alone for all that time. Well, alone in the sense that she was in a strange, foreign world without anyone she knew.

As he approached, her back was to him, so Marth didn’t notice anything off at first.

“Tiki? Gods, am I glad to see y…” he greeted, but as she turned to face him and he got a few steps closer, the words trailed off before he could finish speaking.

It was as if his mind had slowed to a snail’s pace, taking in each new piece of information one at a time instead of all at once.

The first thing was that Tiki had to be a good foot or two taller; about eye-level with his shoulders. She was standing off on her own, so Marth only just now realized this as he was standing closer to her.

Going along with her height, the next thing Marth realized was how much older Tiki looked. Her figure was lean and well-muscled, more developed and mature. Not the childlike, delicate frame of a young girl.

Finally, there was a much more… aloof aura about her, something more distant and reserved. Of course, that was currently being overshadowed by a look of pure and utter shock. Those familiar emerald green eyes of hers were as wide as saucers when they met with his blue ones.

“M… Mar-Mar…?” She stammered softly.

Gods, even her voice sounded older; so silky-smooth and graceful. But there was no denying it; this was definitely, without a doubt, Tiki.

“Tiki, wha— _oof!_ ” Marth was interrupted as the young woman suddenly embraced him in a tight hug. In fact, her arms were wrapped so tightly around him that he was having trouble breathing. “T-Tiki…! Can’t—Can’t breathe!” the Altean prince huffed, though he was smiling even as he struggled against her iron-strong grip.

“O-Oh!” She released him almost immediately after that, taking a few steps back to give him some space. “I-I’m so sorry! I just—oh, Gods, you’re here. You’re really, truly here!”

“You look so…  _different_. What… What happened?” Marth wondered.

It took Tiki a moment to compose herself.

“Perhaps we should… find somewhere to sit and talk about this more? There’s a very lovely section of the castle courtyard that’s peaceful and secluded. You would like it, I’m sure,” she suggested.

“That… That sounds like a good idea,” the blue-haired prince agreed. “Will you show me there?”

Tiki nodded before she started off down one of the castle’s many corridors.

She navigated the place almost as well as Kiran had, and Marth had to remind himself that she had been here longer than him. It made sense that she would know her way around better.

It didn’t take the two of them long to reach the section of the gardens that Tiki had been referring to; a small grove of trees situated next to a brilliant blue pond.

Even Askr’s plant life was so foreign and new to him. It wasn’t extremely strange or weird, but there were subtle little differences that caught his eye.

Tiki sat down in the grass, leaning her back against one of the trees, and patiently waited for Marth to do the same.

He did so, sitting next to her.

“This is… This is probably fairly obvious, but I… I’m afraid I’m not the same Tiki you know,” the manakete started.

She paused, letting her words sink in before she continued.

“The world I was summoned from—well, I suppose it is the same world you were summoned from. Although… time is what separates you and I. I come from an Archanea two thousand years after our journeys together. The land goes by a different name now, though I suppose that’s not very important.”

It took Marth a moment to process what she’d just said.

“Two… Two _thousand_ years?” He echoed.

Sometimes it was just so easy for him to forget how long manaketes lived, until he was reminded of such staggering numbers.

“You… you haven’t been alone for all that time, have you?”

Tiki shook her head, a faint hint of a smile tracing her lips. “Not at all. I’ve made many wonderful friends. Some of them are here now, actually. I’ll have to introduce you later. I’m sure they would be thrilled to meet the legendary Hero King Marth.”

Marth blinked in surprise. “The… I’m sorry, the legendary what?”

That faint smile was now an amused giggle; a sound that filled him with an inexplicable joy. It felt good to hear her laugh, and Marth had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn’t something she did all that often nowadays. Not nearly as often as she used to, anyway.

“You have quite a future ahead of you. People are going to weave tales of your adventures for many years to come,” she told him.

“No pressure, though, right?” He joked with a laugh of his own. It was only a _little_ bit uneasy.

“Not at all.”

A few moments passed between them in silence.

During that brief time, Tiki seemed to be just… taking it all in, as if she was only now realizing where she was and who she was speaking to.

The tiniest little sniffle broke the silence, and Marth noticed the glassy look of tears threatening to spill from those emerald green eyes.

“My apologies, I just… I… I’ve missed you so very much,” she explained herself. “May I… would it be alright if I hugged you again?”

“Only if you promise not to strangle me this time,” the Altean prince teased, already holding his arms out for her.

With their seated positions next to one another, trying to embrace once more was somewhat awkward, but they made it work. Once Marth gave his confirmation, Tiki wasted no time in wrapping her own arms around him—being much more gentle this time around. She nuzzled up against him as well, resting her head against his chest.

Out of habit, Marth placed a hand on her head, only to pull it back when he realized… well, perhaps that wasn’t really appropriate now. After all, she wasn’t… She didn’t _look_ like a little girl anymore.

“O-Oh… Could you…?” the manakete murmured quietly, looking up to meet his gaze again.

Marth smiled, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. He returned his hand to where it had been, slowly running his fingers through her silky-smooth hair.

Tiki smiled back, and as she moved to lean against him once more, he caught a glimpse of a single tear sliding down her cheek.

The pair stayed like that for quite a while, unmoving, enjoying this moment they had together. For Marth, it was a moment like many he’d had in the past, fairly recent in his memory.

But for Tiki, it was a moment she used to think she would’ve never had again.

Eventually, after a few minutes, the sound of faint, soft snoring reached Marth’s ears. If he were with anyone else right now, the blue-haired prince might have been surprised.

But with Tiki…

Well.

Some things just never changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a cute little idea for a one-shot I had~ :p  
> This is totally platonic and not meant to be taken as a Marth/Tiki fic AT ALL.  
> I ain't ship that x'D  
> Also there's not enough of this kind of content in my life and I need that to change :'3


End file.
